Manasssas City Councilman shaves head to help out-of work-restaurant workers

A total of 57 Facebook donors contributed $2,060 to watch Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy give himself a haircut live on Facebook. All proceeds went to Old Town Strong in support of the out of work restaurant bar and staff in Old Town Manassas. On April 8, The Manassas City Council member created a fundraiser on his Facebook page with a goal of raising $1,000 in 10 days. In just one day, donors surpassed the $1,000 milestone. Shocked, and not quite ready to buzz his hair off, Lovejoy decided to increase the goal to $2,000, which was met the next day.

"I never thought we'd hit the goal," said Lovejoy.

On Tuesday night, over 100 viewers tuned in to the Facebook live stream and watched Councilman Lovejoy shave his head in his home bathroom with clippers. The video has received up over 1,000 views. Lovejoy's buzzcut comes after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ordered a statewide closure of certain non-essential businesses, including hair salons and barbershops, on March 23. Lovejoy is not new to hosting events on Facebook Live. He often hosts "fireside chats," where he answers the public's questions regarding the city's response to the coronavirus. He also coordinated a Facebook Live concert series called Manassas LIVE, which features local musicians performing on Facebook live every Sunday night. It serves as a way to keep the old town Manassas musicians engaged in a community.

"Thanks everyone for the support in tonight's Facebook live Charity buzz cut. It means the world for everyone who thought enough to take time to watch this craziness live," Lovejoy's posted to his Facebook page.

Old Town Strong is the charity arm of the Old Town Whiskey Club that works with local organizations to bring relief and support to the Downtown Manassas Community. Old Town Whiskey Club was started by Greg Cook in 2019, and today has over 40 founding members based in Manassas. Their current fundraiser is titled the "COVID-19 Bar Relief Fund." Their website states:

"For much less than one night's bar tab, you can support  your neighbors in time of need & impact the lives of Old Town Manassas bar employees who have always been there for you. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Old Town Manassas bar employees who are struggling during this crisis. In this time of uncertainty you can provide relief to those who have always had your back."

Cook, President and founder of Old Town Whiskey Club, told Potomac Local News that Lovejoy's donation would push Old Town Strong's total funds raised to roughly $15,000. According to Cook, Old Town Strong had raised around $13,000 from both donations and selling "Old Town Strong" t-shirts and hats.

• As of Wednesday, Old Town Strong has sold 977 shirts and 25 hats.

At the end of this week, the merchandise and donation profits will be distributed evenly amongst the twelve participating Old Town restaurants, whose names are featured on the back of the t-shirts:

• Old town sports pub
• Three Monkeys Pub
• Philadelphia Tavern
• C.J. Finnz Bar and Grille
• Public House Brewery
• Crossroads Tabletop Tavern
• Zandras Taqueria
• Okra's Cajun Creole
• Carmello's/Monza
• City Tavern
• Mariachi's Tequileria & Restaurant
• Sinistral Brewing Company

Cook says Old Town Whiskey Club plans to continue hosting fundraisers to support the businesses in Downtown Manassas, where it would usually host their social club meetups as well as spend time with their families and friends. Cook says future fundraiser details will be released soon. While the social club has experienced success in selling merchandise, they are open to suggestions for raising funds.

"This is our first fundraiser. We have done donations [in the past] but never organized one ourselves. we wanted it to be impactful and make a splash,"  said Cook

Cook said Ian Lovejoy had asked their club he could help, leading to the "buzz cut for charity" idea. Freelance Photographer Sandy Schaeffer-Hopkins had also offered to help the club raise cash by taking a series of "Front Porch Photos." The photographer is offering a $99 one hour front porch photo session.  A portion of the photoshoot profits will go to Old Town Strong, as well as any future fundraisers Old Town Whiskey Club sponsors. Customers can view examples and schedule their front porch photoshoots by visiting porchphoto.com. Cook says for the foreseeable future, Old Town Whiskey Club plans to host their future meetings only be in Downtown Manassas or it's local distilleries to continue supporting the Old Town Manassas businesses.

"Right now the most important thing is sticking together," said Cook

Supporters are encouraged to use the hashtag #OldTownStrong and to donate through oldtownstrong.com.